Hastening the Lord's work--Bonneville YSA Stake Conference

At first I thought about just posting my notes from stake conference yesterday and today, but while I may end up doing that later, there are too many other thoughts in my mind following the meetings. Hopefully I can do them justice in this post.

Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge was the presiding authority (accompanied by Gene R. Chidester, since they were reorganizing the stake presidency), and I loved his messages both yesterday and today. He reminded us of the First Presidency's instruction that every Saturday evening session of stake conference throughout the church was to be about hastening the work of salvation. He mentioned that we often talk about the what and occasionally the how, but that we do not always talk about the why.

So he extended the question, relating to the why: "How will my life be better if I join your church?" or "What do you have to offer if I join your church?" He then asked for responses from the congregation. I'm glad I was able to offer the last response; it was necessary to pay close attention to the wording and intent of the question. The other answers that were given were doctrinally sound, but they touched on aspects of gospel beliefs rather than on how joining the church would better a person's life.

My response was that closely following baptism, a person receives the gift of the Holy Ghost, which provides many of the feelings others had already mentioned, and which provides us with strength, peace, joy, comfort, etc., as nothing else possibly can. Having the gift of the Holy Ghost also means that we can have the Spirit of the Lord as a constant companion.

Elder Corbridge took my answer (and my name; I'm the only one whose name he asked!) and explained that the greatest gift of God is eternal life, but the greatest gift we can have in mortality is the gift of the Holy Ghost. A person should join the church to be forgiven of sins and to be endowed with God's power, to partake of the fruit of the tree of life and of the fruits of the atonement.

He then cited a couple of scriptures relating to receiving these things and to sharing the gospel:

"And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost; and if they endure unto the end they shall be lifted up at the last day, and shall be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb; and whoso shall publish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be." (Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 13:37)

"Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth...." (Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 2:8)

He also asked why we should be afraid or ashamed to offer what we have to others. If we understand what we have, the effect it has on our lives, and the effect it can have in others' lives, shouldn't we be eager to reach out and share?

Another benefit he mentioned was that as we help to build the Kingdom of God, we retain a remission of our sins and have the Holy Ghost in our lives.

All this was at the beginning of the Saturday evening session. As he spoke again at the end (following other wonderful talks on hastening the work of salvation), he posed several more questions:

What will I do? How can I do something more?

Personally, I need to ponder a lot more on that. I have some ideas, but I need to understand my sphere of influence and how I can best reach out to others--friends, family, people I may not have met... One suggestion that was made (I think it was last night, but I don't remember for sure) was to commit to meet someone new every Sunday. I need to work on that one; as an introvert, I sometimes find it easier not to talk to people, especially people I don't know. I need to be better at reaching out and getting to know people.

Elder Corbridge added that the consequences of the gospel being true are enormous. Knowing that, wouldn't we want to share it with everyone? If you don't have the gospel now, wouldn't you want to learn it? Because, you see, if it is true (and I know that it is), the consequences truly are enormous. This increases our responsibility and should give us the drive necessary to move the work of the Lord forward. He ended his Saturday remarks by saying that we need to declare the gospel: "Determine to do something. Everything depends on this."

I left with the desire to do more. I need to spend time on my knees and then be willing to act under the guidance of the Holy Ghost. I need to understand how the Lord would have me share the gospel.

There were many fabulous talks both days, but today it was again Elder Corbridge's talk that really hit home for me. He began by describing how the Lord invites us to become involved in His work, not for His benefit, but for our benefit--not to help Him, but to help us. He pointed out that even in the very name of the church, we are all invited to be a part of Christ's Kingdom: It is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--not of latter-day prophets, not of a select few. We are a part of His Kingdom and called to participate in His work.

Much of the rest of his talk focused on the questions: Who am I? and Who am I in the process of becoming? He cited a number of scriptures on keeping the commandments. The most interesting part to me was when he referenced Alma 50:20 (in the Book of Mormon). The first half of the verse says, "Blessed art thou and thy children; and they shall be blessed, inasmuch as they shall keep my commandments they shall prosper in the land." But he then explained that the rest of the verse explains what it means to prosper in the land by presenting the opposite situation: "But remember, inasmuch as they will not keep my commandments they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord." Have you ever thought of it that way? This also clarifies what king Benjamin said about how the Lord will "immediately bless [us]" if we keep His commandments (Book of Mormon, Mosiah 2:24). The blessings and the prosperity will not necessarily be physical. Prospering in the land does not necessarily mean we will be wealthy. What it does mean is that we will be in the presence of the Lord: we will have the Holy Spirit to be with us, to strengthen and guide us in all of our endeavors.

The other two questions I jotted down from his talk were:

Who is my God?
When everything earthly is taken from me, what kind of person will I be?

Each of these questions is a reminder to me that my focus needs to be on my Savior, on relying on the atonement and the influence of the Holy Ghost. I need to be a part of hastening the work of salvation. I don't fully understand yet how I can do this, but knowing that I need to be a part of the work is a beginning. Now I need to come to understand what the Lord would have me do. How can I reach out to others? How can I share with them a message that means so much to me, that even defines who I am--that hopefully can define me more fully and clearly each day.

This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is true. "Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth...." (Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 2:8)